


Three Days

by mischiefgoddesscomplex



Category: Tasertricks - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Language, Oral Sex, Sexual Content, Some Fluff, a little sprinkling of angst, some definite smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-27
Updated: 2014-01-05
Packaged: 2018-01-06 09:26:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1105169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischiefgoddesscomplex/pseuds/mischiefgoddesscomplex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Often times, the most misunderstood things turn out to be the most beautiful.</p><p>What happens when Loki needs a place to stay and hide for the weekend, and Darcy Lewis takes him up on an offer that is just too good to resist? Mischief, shenanigans, tricks...oh, and a bit of romance, too.</p><p>(Takes place when Loki is captured at the end of the Avengers, but manages to escape before Thor can take him back to Asgard. Will have an epilogue that takes place after Thor 2!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thursday Night

Darcy was jolted awake by a knock coming from the front door of her apartment. She groggily leaned over and picked up her cellphone off the nightstand so she could see the time. 

_3:30 am?! What the hell,_ she thought, flopping back over onto her pillows and hoping whoever it was would go away, or that she had perhaps imagined it. 

_Knock, knock, knock._

“Oookay,” she whispered to herself, crawling out of bed wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt. She had a feeling her hair was sticking out around her head in every direction, but she didn’t have time to worry about that as she grabbed her wooden baseball bat for potential defensive measures and headed towards the door. 

_What a great time for the peephole to not work_ , she thought to herself. Renting out an apartment in New York City for the summer had its perks, but it definitely broke the bank a little, and living in a less than perfect place was something she just had to deal with. Gripping the bat a little tighter now though, she felt stupid regret for not having splurged a little to fix the peephole.

“Who’s there?” She called out, putting on a braver, tougher voice than she actually felt. 

Silence hung in the air and then Darcy gasped in surprise as she noticed the door unlocking itself. 

“CUT IT OUT, OR I’M CALLING THE COPS,” Darcy warned, swinging the bat wildly in front of her face as the door opened. 

“Trust me, it’s not the police I’m worried about,” responded a man with a smooth British accent. He stepped into the apartment and Darcy blinked in surprise. 

“You’re…you’re… _holy shit_ ,” Darcy exclaimed. 

“Well, I’ve been called worse, but I prefer to go by Loki,” he said, closing the door behind him. “I need –”

Loki was interrupted by the swift crack of Darcy’s bat making contact with his jaw. He paused to press his hand to his cheek, darkly chuckling as he did so. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Darcy asked. “And don’t think I’m not prepared to mess you up, ‘cuz I am!”

“Well, I must say, I had heard rumors about how you managed to take down my brother with a simple jolt of electricity, but I certainly don’t doubt your credibility now, Miss Lewis,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. “I came here tonight because I think we can make a deal.”

Darcy’s head was swimming with confusion and questions and fear. All the while, the man who had just recently torn the city to shreds (and was supposed to be under the Avenger’s lock and key) was standing in her living room. 

“Okay – first of all – ” Darcy shook her head in disbelief, “How do you know my name, or where I live? And why aren’t you, oh I don’t know, _currently under arrest for blowing up the whole damn city?_ ”

Loki stared at her pointedly. “If you lower your weapon, maybe I would feel comfortable enough to explain myself.”

“Not a chance, Houdini,” Darcy said, shoving the bat into his chest. “I’ve heard all about you and your magic tricks. The bat stays.”

Loki smirked first at her, and then lowered his gaze to the bat, easily pushing it off to the side with one finger. “Very well then.”

Darcy kept the bat aimed at him as he walked over to her couch and sat down, leaning back into the cushions. “I know who you are, Darcy Lewis, because I read your file while ‘held captive’ on SHIELD’s hovercraft base. Believe me, I had plenty of time to waste while they thought me to be actually contained within their holding cell. As for not currently being held under arrest for the crimes which I have so recently and horrendously committed - ” Loki smirked a little, “ – I escaped.” 

Darcy eyed him suspiciously. Her inner-scientist was showing, and she let her curiosity get the best of her. “So why are you…here? And give me one good reason why I shouldn’t get on the phone with SHIELD right now and have them drag your ass back to base.” 

“My brother and his new comrades will be looking for me, no doubt,” Loki said, looking down. Darcy could have sworn she heard his voice waver (was that out of fear?), but he continued on before she could give it more thought. “I simply need a place to…stay, to regroup only for a couple of days and figure out where to go next and how. Before I leave this planet for good. I have no sleeping quarters anywhere else, and I believe the last place SHEILD would come looking for me is right under their own noses.”

“So I’ve come to offer you a trade,” He continued, this time standing up and walking towards Darcy, so that there was only an arm’s length between them. “You allow me to stay hidden in your apartment for the next two or three days, and during my time here, I will offer to you knowledge and secrets about Asgard and the 9 realms, even more so than your friends Jane Foster and Erik Selvig could ever wish to know. Do we have a deal?”

Darcy narrowed her eyes suspiciously, wondering why she was even considering such an insane deal. If there was one thing people tended to overlook about Darcy, especially when compared to Jane and Erik, it was that she was just as much a scientist as they were. Sure, she liked to goof around, but she was always eager for new scientific theories and information to soak up like a sponge. To have the opportunity to get a leg-up on everyone else in the scientific community, to have unknown information and facts about the magical realm of Asgard when everyone else was merely speculating…it would be huge. But was it worth the cost of harboring arguably the world’s largest criminal?

She looked up at him, his ice-blue eyes gazing intensely back at her, so intense that she had to force herself to hold his gaze as she responded. “No tricks?”

“You have my word,” he responded solemnly.

Darcy bit her lip and tapped her foot in frustration. This could not be a good idea, but for whatever reason she couldn’t bring herself to say no. She groaned in reluctant compliance. “If anyone comes to ask about you though, I can’t lie,” she finally said. 

Loki let a small grin pull the corner of his mouth up. “Fair enough,” he responded, holding out his hand for her to shake.

She looked him square in the eyes before taking his hand and firmly grasping it in a shake. “Three days tops. I still have running water, but thanks to your alien shenanigans the electricity is out.”

Darcy let go of his hand and walked towards the closet to pull out her extra blanket and pillow. “I only have one bed, so you’ll have to take the couch. One bathroom too, over there,” She nodded her head towards the bathroom door as she flung the pillow and blanket at his chest. 

A somewhat uncomfortable silence stretched between them as they stood across the room from each other. Here was a homicidal maniac, about to sleep on her couch, and she was _letting him_. This was definitely the worst case scenario she could have never imagined upon opening the door. And yet there had been some kind of undeniable lure and charm about him that made his offer difficult to resist. 

“Why am I doing this,” Darcy caught herself whispering.

Loki raised an eyebrow as he fluffed his pillow and spread his blanket out on the couch. “Maybe you couldn’t resist the offer at hand,” He murmured, before stretching out on the couch with his hands clasped behind his head, “but I’m willing to bet there’s a part of you – a part you’re not even fully conscious of – that’s attracted to the danger of it all.”

A shiver ran down Darcy’s spine as he said that, and she instinctively folded her arms tight against her chest as she walked back towards her room. “Yeah, well, you give me any indications of danger, pretty boy, and I’ll be more than happy to show you the taser that knocked your brother out.”

He laughed at that. The sound wasn’t dark or threatening, but actually sounded genuine. “Goodnight, Darcy Lewis. Oh, and…”

Darcy stopped to look over her shoulder, one hand on the doorframe, the other reaching for the door ready to shut it. 

“…thank you.”

Loki could have sworn he saw a small smile dance across her face for the briefest moment. Whether it was out of disbelief, hysteria, or a simple trick of the moonlight, he did not know, and her bedroom door closed behind her, followed by the unmistakable click of a lock.


	2. Friday

When Darcy woke the next morning, her head was pounding like she had just thrown back ten shots of whiskey the night before. Still riddled with the grogginess of sleep, she shuffled towards the bathroom to take an aspirin. 

Darcy stopped short when she saw the bathroom door ajar. Rather, it was who was inside the bathroom that caused her to halt. 

Loki stood bent over the sink as he splashed his face with the running water, wearing nothing but a towel that hung precariously off his hips. He began to bring a pink razor – one of _her_ pink razors – towards his jaw. 

“Will you be staring at me like that the entire time I’m here, Miss Lewis?” Loki drawled as he ran the razor down the side of his cheek and tapped off the excess on the edge of the sink. He hadn’t even made eye contact with her through the mirror. 

Darcy was still in a bit of shock. Part of her had thought maybe last night had been a dream, but standing here now with a half-naked god in her bathroom, she was thrown back into reality rather abruptly. 

“It depends…are you really going to use my razor to shave?” Darcy asked, leaning against the bathroom door frame. “You can’t just…I don’t know, _magic_ away all your stubble?” 

Loki grinned as he shaved off the last bit of stubble, looking at her through the mirror. “You know, you’re funny, Darcy Lewis. Quick with the tongue. Much more comedic than I had imagined.”

“Aaaand how exactly did you imagine me?” inquired Darcy.

“I suppose I had imagined anyone who had associated with my brother during his time on earth to be much more…how should I say this without offense…much more serious, not as humorous,” Loki responded, turning around and facing her. 

Darcy couldn’t stop herself from checking out his upper torso. He was definitely easy on the eyes. She felt a bit of heat creep into her cheeks as she stared at him and quickly looked back up to meet his gaze. “Yeah, well, ‘a sense of humor is needed armor,’” She said, and then cleared her throat. “Hugh Sidey said that, famous journalist.” 

Loki stroked his newly shaven chin, looking at Dracy intently. “Interesting perspective,” he mused. He walked past Darcy, and as he did so, she caught a whiff of his aftershave. He smelled like fresh wintergreen mint. Or was that just his natural scent? It must have been…she hadn’t seen him use any product…

“Whoa,” She accidentally let slip under her breath as he passed her. 

Loki raised an eyebrow and smiled. “All yours,” he said, gesturing with one hand towards the bathroom. 

_This is going to be a long weekend_ , she thought to herself as she shut the door, and she wasn’t exactly sure why the thought didn’t disturb her as much as it should have. 

\--

“So he can really see everything?” 

“Everything.”

“Well that’s reassuring. The thought of some dude spying down on everyone in the world is totally not creeping me out at all. Then again, this is the facebook generation…”

“Heimdall is a noble man, you have nothing to worry about,” Loki laughed at the uncomfortable face Darcy was making from across the table. 

They had spent the afternoon and a good part of the evening talking about Asgard and all of its complexities and secrets. Darcy had made them ham and cheese sandwiches (trying to use what was left in the fridge before the food spoiled), and introduced Loki to her favorite soda, root beer, which he promptly swallowed in disgust and declared his preference for water. 

She had offered him a pair of jeans belonging to her brother who had left them behind on his last visit. They were a bit tight on him, and he wore them with his own undershirt, which resembled a kind of dark green cotton v-neck. When he had walked out in his new ensemble, Darcy was surprised just how normal he looked. 

“So tell me about growing up royal,” Darcy pressed, leaning across the table and resting her chin on her hand. “I bet that was pretty chill. Living in a palace. Probably had your own ponies and everything, huh?” 

Loki suddenly stiffened, and his expression went cold. “I’d prefer not to talk about it.”

“Whoa, it’s okay,” Darcy said, leaning back in her chair. “I mean, I didn’t have any ponies either...”

Loki rolled his eyes. “No. It’s just that…I recently came to understand that my entire childhood was a lie woven by my father. Full of empty promises and hollow dreams.”

“Sounds very tragically Shakespearian,” Darcy said. “If you don’t mind me asking…is that the reason why you…you know…”

“Why I what, Miss Lewis?” Loki challenged, narrowing his eyes.

“Well, you know,” Darcy said, avoiding his gaze. “went off the deep end. Boarded the crazy train. Tried to enslave earth and make yourself king.”

Loki closed his eyes and set his mouth into a hard line. For a second, Darcy was worried he was about to blow. She instantly regretted what she had said and was about to apologize when he tilted his head back and let out a small, breathy laugh. 

He slowly stood up from the table and walked over to the huge bay window in the living room overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Hesitantly, Darcy pushed her chair back and walked over to stand behind him, unsure of what to say. 

“I’ve really fucked up,” Loki said, his voice so low Darcy wasn’t sure if she had imagined it or not. 

In that moment, Darcy felt a pang of sorrow for the man standing in front of her. No, she could not sympathize with him for all of the terrible things he had done, but she still could recognize a tortured soul when she saw one. And in that moment, Darcy Lewis decided she would try and help. 

“Join the club,” she said. “I was a constant disappointment to my dad. But then, as I got older, you know what I realized? He was kind of a jerk.” 

Loki looked over at Darcy with a curious expression as she stood next to him in the fading light of the window. She had her gaze fixed on the horizon. 

“And do you know what else I realized? I was good enough for me. And smart enough. And I became a better person than he was,” Darcy said. “So, I don’t know what exactly your story is, and you don’t have to tell me, but…”

Loki had his eyes on her, waiting for her to continue. “Yes?”

Darcy looked up and met his gaze, green eyes into blue. “You can be good enough.” 

The weight of her words hung in the air between them as the last rays of sunlight disappeared. They held each other’s gaze, and Darcy felt the tension shift between them, like something had changed. Suddenly his mouth seemed too close and his breath felt too near her cheek, and it was as if a hypnotic spell had been cast between them. 

She cleared her throat and looked down towards the floor, breaking the spell. “Shit, sorry, it’s getting dark,” she said, walking back towards the couch and coffee table and leaving him standing there. “I had to light candles last night, because of the power-outage and all. Man, I really hope that gets fixed soon.”

She was rambling and she knew it. _Quick, Darcy, ease the tension_ , she thought. _Change the subject!_

“Oh, I’ve got an idea!” She said, holding up two fat, vanilla-scented candles. “You can light them! With your magic.”

Loki stared down at the floor. “No, I can’t.”

“Aw, c’mon, I’d love to see it,” Darcy pressed, eager to get him talking again.

Loki looked over at her from under his brow, his arms folded across his chest. Despite his 6-foot frame, he looked small and helpless. “I actually can’t. My magic isn’t strong enough yet.”

“What?” Darcy stood there confused.

He looked ashamed. “That’s the real reason I’ve come to seek shelter with you. I tried fleeing earth immediately after I escaped yesterday, but I was unable. My body was weakened in battle, and my magic was drained. It needs time to recover. I’m not strong enough yet to even light a candle, let alone leave this world.”

“Oh, that’s…that’s okay,” Darcy recovered, blinking wildly. “I’ve got matches.”

She left the room to find her box of matches in the kitchen. When she returned, Loki was standing by couch, running a hand through his hair. She lit the candles in the room and then stood beside Loki. 

_Oh, damn it all to hell_ , she thought as she looked up at the man in front of her. Darcy wasn’t sure exactly how to console a powerless Norse god, they didn’t have any handbooks on that in graduate school. So Darcy did what she knew worked for her when she felt down: she hugged him.

She heard his sharp intake of breath, catching him off guard. But he slowly relaxed in her grip, and it was her turn to be surprised as he wrapped his lanky arms around her. It felt…natural. Organic. _Right_. And Darcy didn’t mind one bit.


	3. Friday Night/Saturday Morning

Darcy wasn’t even surprised when she heard her bedroom door open that night. She had been restlessly tossing and turning in her sheets for the last hour, unable to shut her mind off. Naturally, thoughts of him consumed her. How had she allowed herself to be come so enraptured with him? And in less than 24 hours to boot. Being around Loki was more comforting than it should have been, all things considered, but she couldn’t help herself. And she didn’t really want to stop. 

Her eyes were closed, pretending to be asleep, as she felt the weight of the bed shift to her left. When she felt him finally settle in next to her and the movement stop, she opened her eyes and turned over to face him. He was looking at her softly, his eyelids heavy.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Loki asked. He reached out a hand to gently tuck away a curl that had fallen into Darcy’s eyes. 

“No,” she breathed, feeling her heartbeat speed up exponentially. 

“I don’t believe I could survive another night on that little couch,” he said, smirking. “Would it be alright if I slept with you?”

Darcy shivered in response to his words. She normally was not shy when it came to men, but he had to ability to make her breath hitch in her throat. Not to mention he was an insanely attractive man – no, _god_ – asking to share a bed with her. Her body began to heat up in anticipation. 

“Yes, but…” Darcy whispered, scooting closer, so that her face was right under his. “I don’t plan on sleeping much.”

He had a wicked look in his eyes, and a mischievous grin spread across his face. “Oh?” He questioned, his voice low and throaty. “Care to enlighten me as to what you plan to do in your sleep’s stead?” 

Darcy’s head was suddenly dizzy with lust and excitement. Tilting her head towards his, she softly grazed her lips against his own as she whispered, “Just try and keep up, pretty boy.” 

She felt his mouth grin against hers, and a low sound of amusement vibrated on his lips. “You may come to regret challenging me,” he teased, pulling back his lips ever so slightly. 

“Is that a threat?” Darcy responded, and that was all it took for Loki to envelop her in a passionate kiss. 

_More, more, more_ , was the only coherent thought Darcy could focus on. His lips tasted like nothing she’d ever tasted before – so sweet and smooth. She sighed as he ran his tongue across her bottom lip before gently tugging on it with his teeth. Her hips bucked in response. 

“You little minx,” he growled, his eyes catching hers in the moonlight. “Patience.” 

His hand trailed lightly down her side as he kissed her, tracing her curves. Her breath caught in her throat when he reached the hem of her shirt and placed his cool hand against her warm stomach. Pushing up her shirt, he began kneading her breast, to which she responded with a low moan. 

Darcy lifted her arms, allowing him to push the rest of her shirt off, now in nothing but her underwear. Once he discarded her shirt, he pulled off his own and swiftly rolled on top of her. 

“You are a goddess,” he murmured by her ear, and she felt the heat from his breath burn on her skin. He began to kiss down her neck, lazily swirling his tongue on her skin. With one hand wrapped tight in her wavy brown hair, he slowly reached down with the other to remove the last article of her clothing. She eagerly responded by kicking them off once he had pulled them down far enough. 

“Now, what was that quip about trying to keep up, again?” Loki asked as he touched her where she needed it most. Her back arched in response to his fingers. 

He lowered his head to kiss her again, their tongues swirling around each other, performing a dance of their own. He flicked his fingers inside of her, and she let out a small cry of pleasure as he began to build a rhythm. 

“Surely this was not the challenge you had in mind, love,” he growled against her lips.

Darcy’s thoughts were hazy in her mind, while the desire burning low in her stomach grew more and more intense. She had _never_ felt this good with any man before. But she’d be damned if she let him have all the fun…

“Alright, you asked for it,” she breathed, wrapping her legs around his waist and flipping him over, so that she was now straddling him. “First thing’s first, these pants need to go…”

She quickly unbuttoned his jeans and shimmied them and his undergarments off his legs. When she leaned back up towards his face, she could feel the length of him hard against her stomach. “Much better,” she huffed, stretching out across his body so she could kiss him. 

His hands began to wander down her shoulders and towards her breasts when she stopped him and grabbed his wrists. “Nuh-uh. It’s my game now,” She said, pinning his wrists to the pillow behind his head. Loki looked up at her with an open smirk and groaned in satisfaction. 

“All yours,” he whispered, echoing the same words he had spoken to her that morning, and, _Jesus, had it only been this morning?_

Darcy let go of his hands to spread her own across his chest, kissing him in the hollow of his collarbone as she did so. She trailed her fingers lightly down his chest until she straightened her back completely, kneeling just above him. 

“You tease,” he whispered, his breathing labored. This was definitely having the desired effect on him she had aimed for. 

“Say I won,” Darcy smirked, dipping her hips ever so slightly.

“What?” he breathed.

“You couldn’t keep up,” She explained, lowering her hips, just barely touching him in an antagonizing way. “Say I won.”

He groaned, and Darcy felt his body jerk underneath her. “You won,” he said, his voice low and breathy.

And with that, she slowly sunk down onto him as they both moaned in satisfaction. _Fuck, he felt good._ His hands gripped her waist and she leaned forward so that her mouth was touching his ear, her hips rocking in a steady rhythm as she did so. 

“And don’t forget it,” she whispered with a smile. 

\--

The morning light broke harshly through her window, and Darcy rubbed her eyes as she woke up. She was surprised to find Loki already awake to the left of her, staring at a canvas painting in the corner of her room that was currently a work in progress. 

“Is that something you’ve painted?” He asked quietly, and she noticed he had one arm slung lazily behind her neck, cradling her head against his chest. 

“Kind of,” she responded. It was a painting of constellations in the summer night sky that she had began working on, but had somewhat abandoned. “I just couldn’t get the colors to blend right, so I sort of put it on the backburner.”

“Hmm,” he mused, gazing at the canvas. 

Darcy slipped out from his grasp and got up out of bed. She felt his eyes on her as she walked naked across the room to her closet, but she didn’t care; she smirked a little even. If she allowed a man to see her naked the night before, there was no reason to be ashamed of it the next morning. 

She called out to him from the closet as she dressed herself in a floral summer dress, “I wasn’t always interested in science and space and stuff. I was actually a political science major before I started interning with Jane and Erik. But after the whole thing with Thor in New Mexico, astronomy really started to tickle my fancy. All those stars and planets and galaxies up there…” she said as she zipped up the side of her dress. 

“Anyway,” she continued, picking out a pair of shoes, “I’m going to run down to this bakery a few blocks away and see if they’re open. They have the best donuts, you’ll love them.”

“If they’re anything like that awful ‘root beer’ you had me try, I’m not so sure I should be taking your word on that,” He responded from the other side of the closet door, and she could practically hear the smirk in his voice. 

Darcy finished strapping on her gladiator sandals and emerged from the closet. “Be back in 15,” she said, and threw him a little salute on her way out of the bedroom. 

As she made her way towards the bakery, Darcy recalled the events from the night before and began to blush. She definitely could name a few more things his silvertongue was good at... 

However, somewhere in the back of her mind nagged the thought that he was still responsible for all the damage around her, but she didn’t want to dwell too long on it. Because within less than two days, they had reached a level of intimacy she would have never imagined possible with Loki. 

The last thing she had expected was to actually start caring about the lonely god. But she embraced it. Spending the day talking with him yesterday had felt so good and natural; they had simply clicked. He was a complicated soul: yes, there were bad parts, parts of him that were mistreated and sad and hateful and angry. But she could sense the good parts too. 

Darcy returned to the apartment with a box of donuts in hand. “Yo, Loki,” she called out, setting the box on the table. “Thy breakfast hath arrived.” 

“I’m in here,” he responded from the bedroom. 

“You better not still be sleeping,” Darcy said, walking towards the room. “I’ve got some _Midgardian_ games around here I think would be fun to show– ”

Darcy stopped in surprise when she opened the door to her room. Loki definitely was not still asleep. Instead he stood in front of her half-painted canvas, brush in hand, and was painting delicate celestial swirls across the empty space. It looked so _real_ , the way the purple and black and blue came together and shimmered in a silvery stardust across the canvas. 

“Whoa– how are you doing that?” Darcy asked, incredulous. 

Loki looked over at her, an apologetic smile on his face. “I don’t wish to displease you, I only thought I might be able to help. I know this is your work, and I’ll stop if you wish,” he said.

“Are you kidding?” Darcy asked in disbelief as she walked over to the painting. “It’s gorgeous! That’s exactly the look I was going for, only you’ve made it infinitely better. But how? I don’t see any paint…”

Loki flashed a blindingly white smile, the first she had seen from him. “My magic is returning.” 

Darcy smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Truthfully, she _was_ happy for him. But she was just starting to get used to having him around, and now that his magic was coming back…

 _What, it’s not like he was going to stay here forever, you big dummy,_ she thought to herself. _He’s not even close to anything like a boyfriend. Don’t make it more complicated than it is._

“That’s awesome,” she said, sounding sincere. “I’m really happy for you.”

Loki took one last glance at the painting before putting the brush down and turning towards Darcy. “Now,” he said, intertwining his hands with hers and pressing her gently against the wall with his hips, “What were those Midgardian games you were so eager to teach me?” 

“Oh, well,” Darcy said, feigning obliviousness to his intentions. “I’ll have to show you Battleship. Maybe Monopoly. And I play a mean game of poker.”

Loki kissed the base of her neck, his hands moving to grasp her thighs. “Mmm, I see,” he spoke against her skin. “And do you think, perhaps, we might have time for a game of my choosing first?” 

Darcy’s chest heaved with labored breathing as his hands slowly pushed up the hem of her dress. She wrapped one leg around his waist and looped her arms around his neck just as he brought his lips to hers in a kiss. She could get used to kissing Loki. His lips pushed and tugged and nipped at hers with such passion and synchronicity that they could have only been designed for her. She heard a small moan escape his throat as she bit down and tugged softly on his lower lip. 

“Ahh, you know what,” Darcy said, pulling back from the kiss, “I think we can find time.”


	4. Saturday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you for all of the kind reviews and kudos! This is my first Darcy/Loki fic, with hopefully more to come! Anyway, the songs they listen to in this chapter are _The Way You Look Tonight_ and _I Can't Believe I'm Losing You_ , both by Frank Sinatra. Enjoy!

“I was under the impression you were good at this game,” Loki raised a single eyebrow at Darcy from across the coffee table, playing cards in his hands. “Perhaps you were mistaken.”

“Okay, are you bluffing?” Darcy asked, scrutinizing his face. “I can’t tell if you’re bluffing. There’s no way you have a better hand than me. There is no way you’re beating me at poker on _your first game_.”

Loki’s face betrayed no emotion. The man was seriously as solid and immovable as a brick wall. No hint whatsoever of what kind of cards he held. “Only one way to find out, love,” he said, his tone of voice unreadable. 

“HA!” Darcy let out a victory cry, slamming her cards on the table, “Boom. Read ‘em and weep, pretty boy. That’s four of a kind. The best hand I’ve ever held in poker. Only thing that beats it is –”

“- a royal flush?” Loki finished her sentence, slowly fanning his own cards out on the table. Staring up at Darcy was a seven, eight, nine, ten and jack, all of diamonds. “If I remember the rules correctly...” 

“Shut up,” she cried in disbelief. “How did you manage that?!” 

Loki smirked, leaning across the table. “Would you like to know my secret?” He whispered. 

“Uh, hell yes,” Darcy responded. She was still irritated over losing to a first-time poker player, god or not. 

“Come closer,” he gestured with his fingers. “Over by me.”

Darcy huffed in irritation and scooted around the coffee table until she was kneeling next to him, staring at him intently. 

“Magic,” Loki said, waving an empty hand in front of his face and conjuring playing cards out of thin air. He had a wicked grin on his face and chuckled. 

“You _asshole_!” Darcy yelled, punching him hard in the shoulder. Of course he used his magic, she couldn’t believe she had actually fallen for one of his tricks. 

“You should have seen the look on your face,” Loki started laughing, leaning back on his elbows onto the carpet. 

“You’re a cheater!” Darcy accused, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at him. Although, it was hard to stay mad seeing him like that – full of laughter and so carefree, sprawled across her carpet. 

“And you are a sore loser!” He exclaimed, pointing a finger at her. He then grabbed her arm and pulled her down across his chest. Darcy fell down onto him with a shriek. 

“Don’t think you can charm your way out of this,” Darcy narrowed her eyes at him, but already she was trying to fight the smile on her face. His laugh was too damn infectious. 

“Ah, but therein lies one of my many talents, love,” He responded smoothly, planting a swift kiss on her cheek.

“Cheater.” 

\--

“It plays music?” Loki asked incredulously, running his finger across the top of the record player in Darcy’s living room later that evening. 

“Yep,” Darcy responded, looking over at him through her bedroom door. They had just finished painting the summer night sky on the canvas together. Darcy couldn’t believe how stunning it was with Loki’s magic swirled in between her painted constellations. She smiled to herself, pleased with their collaboration. 

“But where are the instruments?” Loki asked, examining it closer. 

Darcy threw her head back in a laugh, coming to join him in the living room, “Wait, how do you listen to music on Asgard?” 

“Musicians, of course,” he responded, as though it were obvious. “They live inside the palace and play at banquets. It is their role to provide us entertainment with their gifts whenever we desire it.” 

“And I thought _this_ bad boy was old school…” Darcy said, and gave her record player a loving pat before rifling through her record collection. “Well, here on earth we have things called stereos, CDs, ipods, ye ol’ record player here…they play songs whenever _we_ desire it, no live accompaniment required.” 

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Loki said. 

“Alright, this is my favorite way to listen to music,” she said, pulling her favorite record – a Frank Sinatra greatest hits– off the self. “I put the record on, and the needle and speaker do the rest. Just watch. And listen.” 

She set the record on and carefully lifted the needle so that it settled into the outermost groove. The record jumped to life, slowly rotating around as the crack and pop of the static echoed out through the speaker. Suddenly, the first notes of an upbeat trumpet and Sinatra’s voice floated out to fill the silence: 

_Some day, when I'm awfully low,_  
 _When the world is cold,_  
 _I will feel a glow just thinking of you..._  
 _And the way you look tonight._

Loki turned to her with an open jaw, his look a mix of confusion and surprise, “And you were amused by _my_ magic…”

Darcy laughed and extend her hand towards him, “Wouldst thou care to haveth this dance with me?” 

“No, I don’t dance,” He said, shaking his head adamantly, hands up in protest. 

“Everybody dances,” Darcy said, as if stating a general fact. She reached up and took hands into her own. “Just follow my lead.”

_With each word your tenderness grows,_  
 _Tearing my fear apart..._

They twirled around her living room, his hand on the small of her back, and hers around his waist. She held his other hand at shoulder-level, guiding him in simple, quick steps to the snappy jazz song. 

_And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,_  
 _It touches my foolish heart._

Darcy laughed as he got the hang of it, twirling her outward and then spinning her back in close. He grinned down at her as he dipped her towards the floor and pulled her back up to his chest. The last notes of the song faded out, and they stood together, breathless and smiling at one another. 

“Look who’s Lord of the Dance now,” Darcy teased. 

“By the time I leave tomorrow, I daresay I shall have mastered the art of Midgardian dance,” Loki beamed, “All thanks to you.”

Darcy felt a twinge of pain in her heart at the word tomorrow, but grinned up at him nonetheless. The next song started playing, this one much slower than the first. 

“Oh, this is a sad one,” She said with a regretful look, eyeing the record player. “I should go turn it off now.”

“No,” Loki said, pulling her in close so that there was maybe an inch between their noses, “Stay and dance with me?” 

Darcy blinked, surprised at the tenderness in his voice. She nodded her head and rested it on his chest, just so it was right under his chin. She felt his heart beat, low and rhythmic under her ear, and it soothed her. 

_My love was true, I can’t believe I’m losing you_  
 _We played a game, of give and take…_  
 _But I stopped playing, when my heart began to break_  
 _What can I do, I can’t believe I’m losing you._

Darcy swallowed hard, listening to the lyrics of song as they slowly swayed together. _Don’t be so stupid_ , she thought to herself. _This was a fun weekend…you learned new things about Asgard, finished that painting, and banged a Norse god. Twice. In all honesty, it could have gone a lot worse._

Loki let go of her waist and tilted her chin up with two fingers, his lips melting into hers. She sighed into his mouth as the song continued.

 _Wish I could erase every little phase of love that’s in the heart of me_  
 _There’s nothing left for me to do_  
 _We’ve passed the point of no return and now we’re through…_  
 _It’s still too new, I can’t believe I’m losing you._

Loki slowly pulled back from the kiss as the song ended, bringing a hand to her cheek, “You’re crying.”

Darcy reached up in surprise and felt the tear that indeed spilled down her cheek. “Oh,” was all she could manage to say.

“Was my dancing really that awful?” Loki quipped with a soft chuckle. 

Darcy stepped away from his grasp, feeling embarrassed. “Yeah, jeez, must have been,” she joked, though her heart felt unnecessarily heavy. 

\--

Later that night, Darcy lay in bed, snuggled close to Loki’s chest. She breathed in his scent, that cool and comforting wintergreen mint. He ran his hand absentmindedly through her hair. 

“And why is that your favorite poem?” Loki asked her. 

They had been talking about poetry, and Loki had educated her on Asgardian literature and his favorite pieces that he had studied when he was younger. He then, in turn, had just asked her what her favorites were.

“I recited it at my mother’s funeral when she died. It was her favorite,” Darcy replied. “ _Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep_ …never could understand why she loved that poem when I was little. I thought it was totally depressing. But…I think now I can appreciate the beauty in it.” 

“Often times, the most misunderstood things turn out to be the most beautiful,” He said, twirling one of her curls around his fingers. 

“I guess so,” She murmured in agreement. She had a feeling he was talking about more than poetry. 

“I’d like to show you something,” Loki said softly. “Lie flat on your back.” 

“Kinky,” Darcy responded with a smirk, obeying his commands. 

Loki laughed, laying flat on his back next to her, “Perhaps later, you little minx. I want you to look up first.”

Loki raised both hands up in front of them towards the ceiling, twisting and turning them until a swirling mass of green magic ebbed and flowed between them. Slowly, he spread his hands out, letting the magic ascend towards the ceiling. 

Darcy gasped. Above her stretched out a night sky unlike any she had ever seen before. Swirling cosmos and nebulas and constellations shone across a sky filled with colors she had never seen before. Shooting stars and meteor showers rocketed across her vision, while stars and suns twinkled and burned in the background. 

“This is what the night sky is like in Asgard,” Loki said quietly. “I’ve longed to gaze into that star-filled abyss every day I’ve been gone.” 

“It’s unbelievable,” Darcy replied in awe. She paused to register what he had just said. “How long has it been since you’ve seen it? You know, like, in person?” 

Loki was silent for a while. She looked over to him unexpectedly, unsure whether he had heard her or not. Finally he spoke. 

“One year,” he said, his voice filled with sadness. 

Darcy propped herself up on one elbow and looked over to him. She didn’t need to know his story, and she wouldn’t ask him to tell unless he wanted to. “I’m sorry,” she said simply, and she meant it. 

Loki looked up at her, his eyes searching hers and finding an undeniable warmth and understanding. He reached out stroked her cheek tenderly with the backside of his hand.

“Darcy Lewis of Midgard,” he said, his voice low, “I am unworthy of your company.” 

“And yet, here you are,” she smiled sadly down at him. 

“Do you suppose there is hope for my soul, wherever I shall travel after this?” Loki asked, sounding jaded. 

“What, you mean like redemption?” Darcy asked. “That’s a pretty big question.”

“I have committed truly disgraceful acts,” Loki said, his gaze wandering back towards the ceiling and the magical night sky. 

“I don’t know,” Darcy said honestly. “We all make mistakes. Everyone gets the chance to fuck up their life pretty big at least once. But it’s like I said: be good enough. That’s all that matters. Once you start to understand that, you’ll figure out the rest from there.” 

Loki reached up and pulled her back down onto his chest, breathing in the scent of her hair. Darcy snuggled in close. She let the sensation of comfort that came with being held in his arms wash over her. Soon, she was being lulled to sleep by the sweet sound of Loki’s voice as he told her stories from his childhood.


	5. Sunday

Darcy woke the next morning before Loki did. She couldn’t help herself from staring at him as he slept. He frowned a lot in his sleep, sometimes twitching his head from side to side, as if he was having an argument with an invisible adversary. She thought it was cute.

Quietly, Darcy lowered her head and gently placed her lips on his. She hadn’t meant to wake him, but his eyes fluttered open as she pulled away. 

“Good morning,” she said, her hair falling down in waves and tickling his face below her.

“Have I mentioned how absolutely radiant you are in the morning?” Loki mused quietly, gazing up at her. “Truly beautiful at all times, but especially so as the first rays of dawn are reflected in your eyes.”

Darcy felt herself blush at the extraordinary compliment, “How is it you’re single exactly? Or are you not single?” Darcy asked, suddenly alarmed at the possibility once she had vocalized it. “Do you have a wife back in Asgard? Or like, ten wives? Like some weird mythology polygamous god shit?” 

Loki chuckled, clearly amused, “Why, would you be jealous?”

“No!” Darcy answered too quickly, and she mentally berated herself for it. 

“Tsk tsk,” he chided, enjoying playing this game with her. “Green is a color that does not suit you well, Darcy Lewis. I personally think you look best flushed with pink.” 

“Flushed with pink?” Darcy questioned him, and he deftly hooked his leg over her body and rolled them over, so that he was on top of her. 

He lowered his head so that his mouth was just touching her ear, his breath hot against her skin as he whispered, “to be more specific, the color your cheeks flush as you orgasm.”

Darcy felt her stomach flip at his words. He brought his lips to hers in a sensual kiss, pushing her mouth open and sliding his tongue across hers. Darcy let one hand slide up his chest, tracing his body, committing every sensation to memory. He groaned a sound of approval as she ran her hand through his hair and grabbed onto a fistful, pulling his mouth closer to hers in a fervent passion. 

Loki quickly reached down and pushed up Darcy’s t-shirt until it was up and over her arms and head. He then lowered his head, dropping sweet kisses down her neck and on top of her breasts that melted into her skin. Darcy whimpered softly as he swirled his tongue around her nipple, arching her back to give him better access. 

“God, _yes_ ,” she moaned, grasping onto his hair tightly as his teeth grazed her erect nipple. Loki slowly began to kiss down her stomach, running his tongue in hot circles across her skin until he reached the bottom of her abdomen. He tugged off her underwear and she spread her thighs, her whole body left burning and aching for him now. 

She bucked against him at the first contact of his sweet tongue, her head swimming in a cloud of lust and haze and pure want. His tongue swiped at her clit, pushing into her with slow and forceful rhythms, teasing her with flicks at her most sensitive spot.

“Oh god…please…” Darcy moaned loudly, the tension building throughout her body too much to handle, so close to exploding. She arched her hips, rocking them forward in synchrony with his tongue, each breath taking her closer to the edge. 

Suddenly he stopped, and Darcy snapped her head up in protest. “What are you doing?” She whispered painfully, the tension of her pent-up orgasm vibrating through her body. She needed release, and he was so close to giving it to her. 

“I’d like to see your face flush as you come for me,” Loki said, his voice low and husky as he positioned himself over her.

He reached down and freed his erection, slowly circling the outside of her clit. Darcy thought her mind was going to burst as he finally sunk into her, both of them crying out in pleasure. He slowly pulled out and began to thrust in once more, his breathing ragged, and Darcy felt her climax begin to build around her again. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Darcy breathed, her vision blurring as Loki thrust into her with increasing tempo. She clenched around him as he filled her up, and she swore she had never felt so fulfilled in her life. The bed began to creak and moan, and her nails dug hard into his muscled back as she heaved, “Loki…I’m…I’m-” 

Their eyes locked for a split-second before Darcy threw her head back and let her orgasm consume her. Her body rocked violently as it ripped through her, euphoria seeping out of every pore. She moaned his name loudly, and as if on cue, he also released himself into her with a resounding gasp. 

Loki collapsed on top of her before rolling off to the side, both staring up at the ceiling and breathing heavily. _Holy fuck_ , Darcy thought, her vision slowly coming back into focus, _I’m never fucking anyone who isn’t a Norse god ever again_. She reached over and laced her hand through his, which he promptly brought to his mouth to kiss the back of between ragged breaths.

“Sooo, do all your ten wives get that kind of treatment?” Darcy asked slyly, once they had finally caught their breaths, “Or am I just special?”

Her answer came in the form of a swift whack in the face from Loki’s pillow. 

\--

“So today’s the day, huh?” Darcy asked, staring at herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. Loki was in the shower to the right of her. 

After their morning love-making session, they had both headed to the shower. Darcy had planned to take turns until Loki had coaxed her into joining him. As she stood at the sink in her towel afterwards, letting Loki finish his shower, she smiled to herself thinking she could say she had officially banged a Norse god _four_ times. 

“It is,” Loki responded from inside the shower, and she couldn’t read the emotion in his voice. 

A silence fell between them, only the sound of the running water from the shower head pounding into the linoleum bathtub could be heard. Darcy put her toothbrush away and placed both hands on the sink, biting her lower lip. 

“Maybe you could stay longer,” she asked, her voice quiet and unsteady. She grimaced when he didn’t immediately respond. She knew he had to leave – he was still technically a wanted man. But all she wanted was a little more time with him. It was a stupid thing to ask...

“You know I can’t,” he finally said, and the water from the shower was turned off. He stepped out from the tub, a towel wrapped around his hips. He came and stood behind Darcy, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her tight to him. 

“Where will you go?” She questioned him, her voice suddenly sounding very small and not at all strong like she had hoped. 

“That’s down to me, love,” he responded, kissing her softly on the cheek, “Nothing for you to worry about.” 

Darcy turned around in his arms, her back pressed against the sink, and looked up at him, “Will I ever see you again?” 

Loki smiled down at her, but his eyes looked sad, “I could not thank you until the end of time and have it be enough for the kindness you have bestowed upon me these last few days. You, Darcy Lewis, have been one of the most genuine beings I have ever had the pleasure of acquainting myself with. And you have shown me things I would have never had the ability to see on my own.” 

“So, is that a yes?” Darcy teased with a small, hopeful smile. 

Loki laughed softly as he kissed her, his mouth still warm and wet from the shower as he caressed her lips. “Thank you,” he murmured. 

He let go of her waist, “I’ll be getting dressed,” he said as he walked into her bedroom and shut the door behind him. 

Darcy stood against the sink, wanting to be sad, but not quite being able to. Because this had truly been one of the best weekends of her life. And she really didn’t feel like mourning the end of it. 

Suddenly she heard the whir of her air conditioning, followed by the unmistakable buzz of her TV. “Hey!” She called out, tightening her towel around her as she walked into the living room, “The electricity’s back on!” 

Darcy walked over and sat down on the edge of her couch as she watched the TV. A man from a national news station sat behind a large desk as a reel of footage played behind him, showcasing the damage down to New York City. 

“If you or anyone you know has seen this escaped convict, currently at large,” the anchor said as a picture of Loki appeared on the screen with a phone number underneath it, “please contact this number immediately with your information. All calls will remain anonymous.” 

“Oh shit,” Darcy whispered, just as a powerful series of knocks came from her front door. She almost jumped out of her towel, grabbing the remote in a panic and turning the TV off.

“I’m coming! One second!” Darcy panicked, making a move for her bedroom when suddenly the door burst open. She shrieked, clutching her towel to her chest as Thor entered her living room. 

“JESUS,” Darcy screamed, her eyes widening in surprise. “I said I was coming!” 

“My sincerest apologies, Darcy Lewis,” Thor said hastily, obviously embarrassed, “I did not know you would be – that you are – um, indecent. It’s only with a matter of urgency that I’ve come to call on you.” 

“Uh, yeah, okay, what’s up?” Darcy asked, knowing full-well why he was here. 

“It is my brother, Loki,” Thor responded, pacing across her living room. “He managed to escape us a few days ago, after we had arrested him for what he had done to your city. We’ve been looking for him ever since. This morning we discovered security footage evidence of him looking through files while he was detained on SHIELD’s hovercraft base. We noticed he spent much time on your file in particular.” 

“Oh?” Darcy managed to squeak out.

“I came as soon as I could,” Thor explained with a look of concern, “I was worried he had perhaps inflicted some sort of evil upon you.” 

“That’s – that’s sweet of you, Thor,” Darcy managed to smile through her anxiety. She wondered briefly how Loki was reacting, just on the other side of her bedroom door. “But I’m fine, thank you.”

“I’m glad to see it,” Thor smiled, patting her friendly on the shoulder, “and my apologies again about the door.” 

“Don’t worry about it!” Darcy said, eager to get him out of the apartment. “Hey, it was great seeing you again. Tell mew-mew I said hi.” 

“I shall,” Thor laughed, when suddenly his gaze fell on the couch and the pillow and blanket Loki had used a few nights ago. “Oh – I’m sorry, is there someone else here with you?” 

Darcy’s eyes widened for a split second in terror before she tried to compose herself, “Um, no. No, sometimes I just like to sleep out on the couch,” she responded lamely. 

Thor walked over and picked up the blanket, tossing it over in his hands. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated on it. “Darcy – this blanket carries traces of magical residue. A very specific kind of magic. One with which I am very familiar.” 

“Really?” she whispered, trying her best to sound confused. 

Thor set his gaze on Darcy, suddenly very serious, “Darcy, if there is something you would like to tell me I suggest you do so now. You do understand that harboring a criminal such as my brother is a severely punishable crime?” 

“What?” Darcy asked, feigning surprise. “What are you talking about? I – I would never –”

“She is not protecting me, _brother_. I have been holding her here against her will while staying hidden from you and your moronic comrades.” 

Loki stepped out of Darcy’s bedroom, fully dressed in his black and green leather armor. He strode purposefully across the room, standing between Darcy and Thor. 

“Loki,” Thor growled, “You are to pay for what you’ve done! Darcy, has he harmed you in any way?!” 

“N-no.” Darcy stuttered, looking between the two brothers. Thor nodded at her and then called into his SHIELD earpiece that he had found Loki and requested backup. 

“No need for reinforcements, Thor,” Loki responded, turning his wrists over in surrender. “Let’s not make this any more of an ordeal than it already is. Slap the shackles on me. I know you’ve brought them.” 

Thor gave him a confused look but required no further prompting as he produced a pair of magical mannicles and began to lock them around Loki’s wrists and neck. “If you dare try and trick me again, brother…” Thor grumbled as he worked on securing the restraints. 

“What are you doing?” Darcy whispered frantically at Loki from behind. 

Loki turned his head so that he could just see her out of the corner of his eye. He smiled sadly and said quietly, “Being good enough.”

With that, Darcy sunk down into her kitchen chair – shocked and conflicted – at the events that had just unfolded before her. 

And then the two brothers walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so, SO pleased with all of your kind reviews and kudos! I think there will be one more short chapter after this, and I am sort of playing around with the idea of a sequel, but we'll see. Thank you all for reading, and I really do appreciate the feedback!


	6. One Year Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, this is it: the last chapter! The very end takes place after Thor 2, so if you don't want to be spoiled by events in that movie, I would advise against reading! Otherwise, this follows pretty close to canon (except Darcy having a fling with the intern, Ian. We're going to go ahead and say that never happened, for the purposes of this story)! Enjoy :)

_One year later_

“It really is going to be great to be working together again,” Jane said over cups of tea with Darcy in her London apartment. They were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table. Outside the wind howled as the weather transitioned quickly from summer to fall. 

“Totally,” Darcy said, stirring in a packet of sugar. She had just moved two weeks ago to London to help Jane with some research studies. “Took you long enough to finally come over and visit my new digs.”

“I was just waiting for you to get acclimated,” Jane explained. 

“Mhm,” Darcy mused, taking a sip of her tea. “It wouldn’t kill you to take a break from your work every now and then, you know.” 

Jane grimaced, looking guilty, “Sorry Darce, I’ve always been busy, but it’s no excuse.” 

“It’s cool,” Darcy said, smiling, “You’re here now. Team science, back together again!” 

Jane chuckled and raised her cup for a toast, and they both took long sips of their tea. An awkward silence fell between them as they stared into their cups. Jane bit her lip, fighting the impulse to address the elephant in the room and losing. 

“So, do you want to talk about it…?” Jane asked tentatively. 

“Talk about what?” Darcy asked looking up from her tea, the picture of innocence.

“You know,” Jane tried her best to delicately approach the subject, “Loki…”

Darcy rolled her eyes, “Are you still trying to beat this dead horse? Why do you always want to bring this up?” 

“Because you never talk about it!” Jane exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “To anyone! Ever! Literally nobody knows what happened to you those three days.” 

“Well I’m alive and here now, aren’t I?” Darcy responded sarcastically. “Listen, Jane, your concern is comforting. But I’m fine. It’s over.” 

Jane huffed, unsatisfied with the way this conversation was going, “I care about you; that’s all. Every time I tried to call and talk to you about it you changed the subject. Was whatever happened to you so traumatic that you refuse to tell anyone? I just don’t think that’s healthy.” 

Darcy laughed and shook her head, “No.” 

“Well _sorry_ for trying to be a good friend,” Jane rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she slumped back into her chair.

“Alright...you want to know the truth?” Darcy asked with sudden excitement as Jane perked up with a questioning look on her face. “We played a game of poker at which he cheated, slow-danced to Sinatra in my living room…and he positively _ravished_ my body when we made sweet, _sweet_ love under the moonlight.” 

Jane threw her a deadpan look, “Darcy, you are so full of shit.” 

Darcy took a sip of tea, her expression smug, “You said you wanted to know what was so traumatic.” 

Jane stood up and started to put on her coat, “Well, if you ever want to talk about it – _for real_ – you know I’m here for you. I’ve got a date tonight, so I need to get ready.” 

“A date, huh?” Darcy teased. “Done holding out for the god of thunder?” 

“No, I just…” Jane searched for an answer as she walked towards the door, “I just think this might be a nice change of pace. You’ll be working at the lab tonight right?” 

“Yep,” Darcy stated, standing up to see her friend out. She was about to bring up the fact that she had recently hired her own intern, but decided Jane had enough on her plate to deal with for the time being. That knowledge would have to be shared at another time. 

“By the way,” Jane said as she hugged Darcy goodbye, “I love that painting.” 

She nodded her head in the direction of the living room. On the wall by the window hung the summer night sky painting she had done over a year ago, with Loki. Darcy smiled at the memory. 

“Thanks. I do too.” 

\--

Dead. _Dead_? 

It had been a few days since the battle in London with Thor. He had showed up again with Jane just beforehand with news that Loki had died protecting both him and Jane. Darcy hadn’t allowed herself to show any emotions except sympathy for Thor, instead focusing on the imminent battle at hand. 

Once it had ended, Thor returned to Asgard to speak with his father, and Darcy finally had a few days alone with her thoughts and emotions. Except she didn’t really know exactly how to feel. A part of her was thankful and warmed at the thought that he had given his life to protect his brother and her friend. But another part of her had been hopeful that maybe somehow, someday, they could find a way to reunite. And the thought of this impossibility made her decidedly heartbroken – an emotion she was not too familiar with. Not even the god of mischief could cheat death, it seemed. She felt her eyes begin to prickle with tears. 

“You just had to go and get yourself killed being good enough, didn’t you, pretty boy?” Darcy whispered quietly to herself as she sat on her couch staring at the painting on her wall. 

There was a sudden whooshing noise that snapped Darcy out of her reverie. She brushed the tears out of her eyes and walked towards the door, noticing an envelope had been slid underneath. Quickly, Darcy opened the door to see who had delivered it. 

“Hello?” She asked, swinging it open wide and peering down the hallway. Nobody was anywhere to be seen.

“Weird,” She said, closing the door and picking up the envelope. It was a thick and smooth, creamy color, unlike the boring thin, paper-white envelopes she had in her drawer. It even had a red wax seal, something she had never seen on any of her mail before. She flipped it over and saw no writing on either side – no name or any indication whom the letter was from. 

Curious, she broke the seal and pulled out a single sheet of parchment that had been folded inside. Her heartbeat quickened as she saw the script – handwritten with such elegance and finesse in a dark ink. 

_Do not stand at my grave and weep_  
 _I am not there. I do not sleep._  
 _I am a thousand winds that blow._  
 _I am the diamond glints on snow._  
 _I am the sunlight on ripened grain._  
 _I am the gentle autumn rain._  
 _When you awaken in the morning's hush_  
 _I am the swift uplifting rush_  
 _Of quiet birds in circled flight._  
 _I am the soft stars that shine at night._  
 _Do not stand at my grave and cry;_  
 _I am not there._

_I did not die._

Darcy read the poem over twice, the only thing written on the page. It was her favorite, and this was no coincidence. She hadn't even read it to him, that night they laid under the stars in her bedroom - but _he knew_. There could only be one person it was from. She laughed out loud, holding the paper close to her and looking up, hope bubbling in her chest.

“You cheater.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading this story! Not sure if I have an exact idea where I would want a sequel to go if I did one, but I know I want to keep writing about these two in a lot of different contexts regardless, so stay tuned! 
> 
> All of your support and feedback is SO wonderful. Thank you, thank you, thank you!


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